Extender Claws
by Whip-Owl
Summary: *Alternate Reality.* When Rumpel takes over the Sky Kingdom, Whip runs away. But she gets a harder time than she planned. And a better friend than she knew she had. Title is not as random as it seems.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

(If anyone reads this who didn't read Sickness Spreads I'll be mildly surprised. But it works as a stand alone so whatever. And this is kind of obvious but just so you know, this chapter takes place in the normal reality, so it could be a little confusing, and then switched to the alternate.)

Whip flew toward the swamp. She had promised to help take care of the dronkeys since Donkey and Dragon weren't around. She arrived a little late. Puss came running out of their cave being chased by dronkeys trying to set his tail on fire. "Whip. I was wondering if you'd ever get here."

"Well I'm here now." She flapped over to the dronkeys. "Hi guys!"

Some of them were still interested in Puss, but some of them shouted "Whip!" and flew over running her down. She was getting used to the rough treatment. They were still young after all. She picked up the one closest to her with her wings. She bounced him up and down.

For a little while Puss and Whip worked to keep the dronkeys happy, which was difficult without getting themselves killed in the process. Then Whip felt the uncomfortable feeling she got when someone was staring at her. She tipped her head in the direction of Puss, since she was blind, it was hard to look him directly in the eye. "What is it?"

"Nothing seniorita. It's just . . . I think I saw you in alternate reality." He answered.

"Really?" Whip asked in great interest. She'd always wondered how different she would have been in alternate reality. But to remember it, someone had to tell you an exact event you did so she never knew.

"Yes . . . I remember now. You were in the Poison Apple. And I was questioning you because I didn't think you belonged there and then Fiona came in. And she asked about your extender claws. . ."

At extender claws Whip staggered back as the memories hit her.


	2. Nothing

Nothing

Whip sat at the fire making an extender claw. Her mentor had told her if she could make these, she would be made an official black smith. She soon found out this was no easy task. Extender claws were like blades, but they had to made so owls, such as herself, could attach them to their claws. Whip was almost finished.

Then her friend Star burst into the room. "Whip!"

"Yikes!" in her surprise, she dropped the extender claw.

"Oh sorry. Was that something important?" Star asked.

Whip felt the feathers on her raise in frustration. Of course it was important! Then she took a soft deep breathe and forced her feathers back down. "No, it's nothing. What did you come to tell me?"

"Far Far Away has a new king! Rumpelstiltskin!" Star announced.

Whip's eyes widened. Rumpelstiltskin had come to the Sky Kingdom before. Though how he'd gotten there without being able to fly no one knew. Shortly after he left the beast had started attacking again.

"Come on. Let's go see what your dad's going to do." Star flew out and Whip followed. Whip's dad was leader of the Sky Kingdom. He would know what to do.

On the way to the palace they heard the Rumpelstiltskin rumors flying. Whip was sort of happy really, it meant they weren't talking about her. They entered the palace and went to the throne room.

Whip opened the door. Her dad was talking to someone important. "Whip?"

Whip felt her feathers shrink in embarrassment. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought to listen before entering. Her dad was already disappointed he hadn't had a son, she didn't need to give him another reason to be disappointed in her. "Hi Dad. I-I heard about Rumpelstiltskin."

"Yes well, I imagine everyone's heard about that by now." He replied.

"So . . . what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing."

Whip almost staggered back in shock. "N-nothing?"

"He can't come up here unless he can fly. We have nothing to worry about and I won't go looking for trouble. Now why don't you two leave?"

It wasn't really a question. The two of them left. As soon as they were outside the palace Star left and started telling everyone about the king's decision to do nothing. _That's just great._ Whip thought irritably. _A creepy short guy who brought the beast on us has taken over a large kingdom, and Dad's doing _nothing.

If she was honest, Whip would admit she'd always liked the sound of Far Far Away. A kingdom full of ever afters. The Sky Kingdom was about as big as it, but Far Far Away was far superior. And now Rumpel had it.

Whip entered her home and slammed the door. She landed and stepped on something sharp. "Ouch!" she felt with her talon what she'd stepped on. It was an extender claw. _Oh right. I have to finish making this._

(Just in case anyone's read Sickness Spreads, if Star seems a little out of character keep in mind it is alternate reality. Plus they're younger which affects the way Star is and the way Whip sees her.)


	3. Rumpelstiltskin

Rumpelstiltskin

(I got the idea of him taking other kingdoms from a deleted scene in four.)

Rumpel skipped through the palace. He had to admit, the first few days had been busy. He had to make sure the villagers accepted him as the new king and start working on his plan to get rid of the Fairy Godmother. And of course there was still Shrek to worry about when he got here..

On the plus side he was getting several deals signed now. In fact, another king had even signed one. That meant one more kingdom for Rumpel. "Soon, I'll have so many kingdoms no one will be able to stop me." He said. Fifi nudged him then. "What is it?"

Fifi looked at the sky and honked. For a second Rumpel was completely baffled. Then he remembered. "Oh yeah. The Sky Kingdom. I suppose that would make a good addition." He sat down. He'd have to get a witch to take him up later. But for now, it was time to rest.

(Fifi's still too small to take him up.)


	4. A Visit

A Visit

Whip's mentor looked at her extender claw. "Not bad Whip. Not bad at all."

Whip gave a shy smile. Her mentor was an eagle owl, the only kind bigger than hers, the great horned. "So, I'm a black smith myself now?"

Whip's mentor laughed joyfully. "Of course. And since you can't do much good with one extender claw I'll give you some more." He gave her a set. Well, actually, it was missing one. But since Whip had made one herself it worked out.

"Thank you!" she hugged him.

He spread his huge wings around her. "Always a pleasure to serve a princess."

Whip felt an odd pang in her chest at that. _But . . . I thought he was one of my true friends. Does he only like me because I'm a princess? _Before she could voice any of these things though, Star burst through the door. Again.

"Whip!"

Whip slid out of her mentor's grip. "Yes Star? What is it?"

"Ru-well . . . um. . ." Star started.

Whip's mentor made a strange coughing noise. "Well, I think I'll take my leave now." He got up and flew out.

As soon as he was gone Star burst out "Rumpelstiltskin is here!"

"What? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know, but he's here. Come on, he's talking to your dad." The two of them flew out.

They went into the palace. Whip was about to swing the door open to the throne room when she remembered what had happened last time she did that. She knocked instead. "Who's there?" her dad asked.

"It's me!" Whip shouted.

There was silence and for a second Whip thought her dad wouldn't let her in. Then he said. "Enter."

Whip flew in and landed carefully on the floor. Being blind had always made flying hard. "Whip, this is Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpelstiltskin, this is my daughter, Whip."

Whip noticed the way he'd said daughter, like it was something to be embarrassed by. She pretended not to notice. "Nice to meet you." Rumpel said. It didn't sound like he meant what he said.

"He's holding out his hand." Star whispered. She said it so softly only an owl, and one with really good hearing, could've heard.

Whip extended her talon. "You too." she was usually careful when shaking hands so as not to hurt anyone with her talons. However this time she let herself be a little careless.

There was a honking. Whip hadn't even known there was someone else in the room. But now it was obvious. Rumpel had brought a goose. "Speak any goose?" Star asked in the same extremely soft whisper.

"A little." Whip replied with the same softness. "But not enough to know what she said."

Rumpel meanwhile had turned back to the king. "I saw your dance floor on the way in by the way. Nice pretty ball. I'll have to get one."

"I could always see if our dragon could make one for you. He made. . ."

Whip and Star slipped out. "This is not good." Star said.

"I noticed." Whip told her. "And that pretty ball thing, that's not what they were talking about. They just did it because we were there." Whip had noticed that from there tone of voice. She had pretended not to notice though. Like always.

"Well then let's see what they are talking about."

Star and Whip leaned against the door. "Nice daughter you have." Rumpel was saying. He had put emphasis and on the word daughter.

Her dad let out a tired sigh. "Yes I suppose so. But . . . to tell you the truth she's a bit of a let down. I'd always wanted a son."

Whip's eyes pooled up. She knew this was true about him. But she'd never heard him say so to someone he didn't even know. "I-I have to go." She lied. "Let me know if anything important happens."

"Sure." Star said.

Then Whip left.


	5. Runaways

Runaways

Whip sat on her pillow. It was morning and she was about to fall asleep. Then, for the third time, Star came bursting in. "Whip!"

Whip sighed. "Does this have something to do with Rumpelstiltskin?"

There was a silence then Star said. "Oh, sorry. Yes! He's taken over the kingdom!"

Whip blinked in shock. "What?"

Star sighed. "Look, I don't know how he's done it. But he has."

Now that the shock had worn off Whip had to think. She had a feeling Rumpel wouldn't be too happy to keep a former princess who hated him around. "I have to get out of here." She flew up and started getting the necessary supplies into her bag.

"What?" Star asked in surprise. "But you're blind. You can't possibly go hoping about the country side."

"I'm in danger here. I'm going."

She reached for her extender claws and felt Star's talon instead. "Then I'm going with you."

Whip smiled sadly. "Thank you." She put her claws on, grabbed her bag and flew out. They had to stop at Star's house so she could pack as well. Then they left.


	6. Duloc

Duloc

Whip and Star flew over the forest. They were getting tired and still had no idea where they were going. "Hey! I see a castle up ahead." Star cried out.

"Really?" Whip felt relief. They could rest there.

"Yeah, tall castle at that. Now let's go."

The kingdom, whatever one it was, had a wall around it. But that wasn't a problem for them. They just flew in. Whip listened. There was some faint music, but not a lot of people. She supposed that was a good thing, they didn't want to draw to much attention to themselves.

"Hey! What's this?" Star asked. She flew over to a lever and pulled it down.

Whip heard gears turning inside a box. Then doors of the box opened. It began _signing. _"Welcome to Duloc. Such a perfect place.

Here we have some rules. Let us lay them down.

Don't make waves. . ." Whip gave Star an 'are you kidding?' look. This was insane. The song finished up. "Duloc is a perfect place!" Then the doors closed and there was a click. The sound of paper coming out was next.

_Oh it took a picture. _Whip realized. "What do we look like?" she asked.

Star giggled. "We're giving each-other the 'you've got to be kidding' look. It's pretty funny."

"Hold it right there fairy tale creatures." It was a man's voice. Whip heard a sword go out in front of them.

"We're not from fairy tales." She told him.

"You're talking owls. Therefore you are magical at the very least, and must be taken to Lord Farquad."

"No way!" Star shouted. She clawed at him somewhere there was no armor. It sounded like he was in a good deal of pain. And it must have been somewhere low because owls were short. . .

_Oh. _Whip thought as she realized where Star had hurt him. "Run!" Star yelled.

They ran away. Owls weren't particularly fast runners. "We need to get in the air." Whip said. They started flapping. Soon the lifted off. _We're going to make it. _

She'd hoped far too soon. A hand grabbed her talon. Judging by the noise Star made, she guessed she'd been grabbed too. "Come on now. Let's go see Lord Farquad." He said with anger in his voice. Then he turned around and marched them towards the castle.


	7. Lord Farquad

Lord Farquad

(Did I forget to disclaim. If I did, I don't own Shrek. There.)

Whip and Star were carried, upside down into the castle and into a dungeon like place. "What's this?" came a voice.

"I found these two outside. They're fairy tale creatures." The knight informed him.

"We are not! And the term is ever after." Star told him.

Whip stifled a sad sigh. If they hadn't talked he might have let them go. But now there was no pretending. "You are talking owls. If that isn't a fairy tale what is?" the voice asked. Whip had feeling this was Farquad.

"Have you heard any fairy tales with talking owls?" Whip asked him.

"Well no. but there are plenty of tales out there. You could still be from one." Star hissed. She was about to insult him but she was cut off. "Guard! Put these two with the others."

"Right away my Lord." The knight bowed, which jostled the owls a bit, and left the room.


	8. Dungeon

Dungeon

(Since I don't say the names right away, the chatty third speaker is Donkey, the horse is really a unicorn, and the last unknown voice is one of the three pigs.)

The knight took them deeper underground and into a hall. He then opened a door and tossed them in. It was a prison cell. "Let us out!" Star shouted. Whip hissed.

"Oh give up. You're not going anywhere." Came a growling voice.

"Hey! They just got here, they might figure something out." Someone else said.

"Thanks Pinocchio. Man don't you listen to the bears. They're so negative." Came yet a third voice. Whip's head was starting to spin. There were so many people here, wherever here was, and she couldn't see. It was overwhelming.

"Err . . . right. Thanks." Star said.

"We'll figure something out." Whip added. Then she spoke to everyone else. "And we'll get all of you out too."

"Yeah sure." Muttered the bear. He didn't sound like he believed it.

Whip sighed. It didn't matter. She'd find a way out and save them all. She paced around the cell, listening and feeling to figure out more. Most of the walls were made of stone and the door of wood. But there were also a few bared windows. One of them was on the door. Whip flapped up to it and felt outside. There was a lock. She stuck her extender claws in. Being blind, her hearing and feeling were much greater than a normal owl's. Picking a lock was easy. With a click the door opened.

There was some gasping. "You did it." Came the third voice. Whip still didn't know who it was. "See I told you they'd get it."

"Okay fine. Great. Just get us out of here." The bear grumbled.

"No problem." Star flew out and started working on a lock nearby. Whip went to work helping. Soon everyone was out of their cages.

Then the door opened. "Oh. They all escaped!" this wasn't the same knight as before. This one had a weirder way of talking.

"Yeah, sorry Thelonious. But we got to go." Said the chatty creature, Whip _still _didn't know who it was.

They all ran. "Oh wait." Thelonious seemed to realize he was supposed to stop them because he went after them. Then a horse kicked him. He hit the wall and fell unconscious.

"He's not dead, is he?" the horse asked.

Whip shook her head. "I can still hear his heartbeat. Now let's get out of here."

"Ja. Before anyone else shows up." Came yet another new voice.

"Don't worry." The chatty one said. "There aren't many knights. They all left trying to rescue some princess."

They all ran out and towards the exit. Soon after leaving they heard what was left of Duloc's knights coming after them. "Faster!" Whip shouted. Once they were outside she went to some bushes. "Back here. We can hide." The others followed her.


	9. Are We There Yet?

Are We There Yet

Whip, Star, and the ever afters hid in the bushes. The knights came by on their horses. Whip gave everyone a meaningful look to stay silent. "Where'd they go?" a knight asked.

"No idea, but they couldn't have gone far." Another replied.

"Maybe we should go tell Lord Farquad." They went back toward Duloc.

The ever afters all popped out of the bushes. "That was close." Pinocchio said.

"Yeah we better get out of here." That was the chatty one again.

Whip leaned in and did the super soft whisper to Star, "Who's that one who's always talking?"

"A donkey." Star informed her.

"But where would we go?" someone wondered.

"Hey, I heard of this place called Far Far Away. I bet we could go there." The Donkey suggested.

Everyone seemed to like that idea. "Let's go." Three small creatures said at once. They all walked in different directions, hit each-other, and fell over.

There was a laugh. "The three blind mice are hopeless."

Whip shook her head at the sky. "They give blind people a bad name."

"I'll carry them." The horse offered. She picked up the mice and put them on her back.

They all went onto the pathway and started off. Whip and Star flew. The others walked. It took a long time to get there. After a little while the donkey asked "Are we there yet?"

"Nope." Star told him.

He seemed disappointed. A little while later he asked again. "Are we there yet?"

"No." some else answered.

It took a little longer before he asked again. They no longer seemed to be in the forest. "Are we there yet?"

"No." one of the bears growled.

"How about now?" he asked a little later.

"Now what?" Pinocchio asked.

"Are we there now?"

"Oh. No." he replied.

Finally he asked 'are we there yet' so may times everyone just shouted "NO!"

"Alright I get it." Donkey said. Apparently he didn't though. "Are we there yet?"

"Does it look like we are?" Whip asked.

"Yes!" Donkey shouted.

"Wait what?" the horse asked. Everyone looked up ahead. Except for Whip who listened. They really had made it to Far Far Away.


	10. Dragon Attack

Dragon Attack

Everyone picked up the pace a little to get to Far Far Away. Whip heard a roar. She knew her ears were better than the others' and that she was the only one who knew of the danger. It wouldn't take the others long to realize though. "Hide!" Everyone did it on impulse. She grabbed onto the donkey as they hid in the bushes.

Soon the roaring creature was close enough for Whip to figure out what it was. It was a dragon! It swooped over them. Donkey, and a few others, screamed. The dragon must have heard them, for it swerved back toward them. "Change of plan. Run!" Whip shouted. Everyone started running, the dragon was coming closer.

Then Star took some of the ever afters and flew a different direction. She hurled a rock and the dragons head. "Hey! Come and get me!" the dragon turned after them instead.

"Star!" Whip screamed.

She was about to go after her when Donkey pulled her away. "Are you crazy? We got to get out of here." He dragged her away. She was thoroughly angry with him. That is until the dragon turned around and started back after them. _He must have realized before me, with his sight._

They ran into Far Far Away. Donkey led her to a restaurant type place and Whip slammed the door shut.


	11. The Poison Apple

The Poison Apple

Whip and Donkey turned around to face the room they'd entered. Of course, it didn't make much difference to Whip so she quickly used her ears to figure out what was going on. They seemed to be in some kind of bar. There was a man four fingers short of a fist playing the piano, and he wasn't half bad at it, a bar tender, and a few costumers. Not many though.

"Hey look. We've got some new guys." The bar tender said. Whip had feeling the person was a she, despite the strange voice.

"Really?" one of the costumers asked. "Most people have left by now. Usually to make a deal with Rumpel."

Whip's ears went flat. She would never trust him enough to sign a deal, and she was blind anyway. But she couldn't say either of those things. "Yeah, well. We're new here." She flew up to the bar and ordered herself and Donkey a drink. Donkey walked off.

Shortly after he left, someone new came up. Someone short and in boots. "Hello Seniorita." He was definitely Spanish. "So, you're new here?" Whip nodded. There was a silence. "You seem to have a lot of things for someone at the Poison Apple." He said.

_So that's where we are. _Whip thought. She was on her toes now though. He was clearly suspicious. "Well, we _did _just get chased around by a dragon. Can't be too picky where you go when that happens."

He made a 'hmm' sound. Then the door opened and someone new walked in. They ordered a drink. Their voice was scratchy but Whip could tell they were a she. In fact, if Whip didn't know better, she'd say the person was making their voice scratch intentionally. "Are those extender claws?" she asked.

Whip jumped a little. She knew the person must be talking to her. "Uh, yeah."

"I hear they're hard to make."

"Yeah they are." Whip feathers' shrunk a little. "They were a present from my mentor."

The person didn't say anything else. Whip wondered if she'd nodded. It seemed likely.

There was a noise outside. Everyone turned toward the entrance. "Oh great. She's trying to put up a wanted poster again." The piano player groaned. He got up and went out. Whip, the guy in boots, and the woman who'd asked about her claws, followed him. "Hey! No wanted signs here witch!"

The witch stopped putting the sign up. "The orders come from the King. He wants a wanted sign here, that's where it will be."

"Say, that's an ogre." Boots, that's what Whip had dubbed him anyway, said.

The witch snorted. "Obviously."

"I got to go." And with that Boots walked off.

"Me too." the woman said. She sounded a little nervous. Then she left.

Whip sighed then realized she had to find Star. "Well since everybody else's leaving, now seems as good a time as any to do so." And she walked away too.


	12. The Owls

The Owls

Whip flew low to the ground listening for Star. The problem was, she could be anywhere. Whip was just passing close to the castle when she heard a 'pst!' Whip looked up spun her head up toward where the sound came from. "Are you Whip?" Someone whispered. Whip nodded. "I'm Moon. You're friend Star is up here."

"Star's here?" Whip asked softly.

"Yeah, now come on, before we're caught."

Whip flew up. Moon grabbed her talon and flew her into a room with three other owls. "These are my other friends. Gray and Whisper." Moon introduced.

"Hi." Whip said. "Star?"

Star ran up and hugged her. "Whip! I was worried. After that dragon attack. . ."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that dragon anymore." Moon said.

"The witches fought her." Gray added.

And Whisper finished with, "I think they've taken her prisoner."

"Great!" said Star. "But I don't think we'll be safe here either way."

There was an awkward silence, then Whisper said "Probably not."

"We live here because owls are witch's pets." Moon explained.

"But I'm not sure how well they'd take to you." Gray stated.

"They barely take to us." Moon added.

"I can't imagine why." Whisper muttered sarcastically.

Whip sighed and blinked sleepily. It had been a while since she'd gotten some sleep. "Well, I guess we better go Star." She yawned.

"Hey wait!" Moon cried. "You can't stay here permanently, but you can stay the night. Come on get some sleep." She guided them with her wings to some pillows to sleep on.

"Thanks Moon." Whip yawned. She and Star fell to sleep.


	13. Worcestershire

Worcestershire

Whip awoke to Moon bouncing over her. "Whip! I just thought of where you could go."

"What? Oh, where?" Whip quickly woke herself up.

"You can go to the town of Worcestershire." Moon suggested.

"Moon that's brilliant." Gray complimented.

"They keep to themselves a lot. I don't think they'll mind you and Star showing up." Moon explained.

"Right, how would we get there?"

"Well you have to go across this ocean. But maybe I should tell Star how to get there. Since she can, you know, see." Moon answered.

"No offense or anything." Gray added.

Whip sighed. "None taken." She waited until they'd turned their attention to Star before shaking her head. She wasn't helpless because she was blind.

Later Star and Whip took off to Worcestershire. It was a really long flight, what with an ocean there and all. By the time they got over land again they were exhausted. Soon Whip heard people below. Only something about their voices suggested they weren't grown up yet. "Star, what's down there?" She pointed with her talon, the extender claw clicking a little.

Star giggled. "That's a high school."

Whip panted. "Maybe we should land somewhere out of sight there. I'm beat."

"Me too." Star agreed. They around before finding some bushes inside the high school that would hide them. They went there and sat down. Soon they'd both fallen asleep.


	14. Artie

Artie

Whip woke up to hear gibes. She cringed; it was horrible when people were like that. Leaving Star in the bushes, she slipped closer to the talking. "Looks like you'll be late for class." Someone said. Some others laughed.

"Yeah. Ha ha." Said a voice much closer to the ground. Clearly he didn't really think it was funny.

Whip walked into sight. "Hey, leave him alone." She said without thinking.

"Oo, scary." Came a sarcastic voice. The others broke out laughing. "What are you going to do birdie?"

"I'm an _owl._" Whip corrected, barely concealing a hiss.

The kid on the ground tried to get up. The leader of the group put his foot on him. "What, not going to let the birdie save you?"

_It's owl! _Whip thought angrily. "Yeah, probably the closest to a girlfriend you'll get." One of the group members said.

Whip had had enough. She raked her extender claws through the leaders' legs. He screamed and she heard him slump to the ground. "I said leave him alone! Oh yeah, and it's _owl. _You can leave me alone to."

She noticed a crowd had gathered as they made comments. Then the members of the group came at her. She noticed they were being more careful now though. Whip ran up one of their arms and jumped into the air, wings out from it. She clawed at them, and was doing a pretty good job too. Meanwhile the crowd was chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Whip had taken care of most of the group when one grabbed her from behind. With her small size he was easily strangling her. "Whip! Get off my friend!" screeched Star. Whip wasn't sure when she's shown up, but the timing was great. The guy screamed as Star attacked his eyes and fell with his friends.

Whip panted. "Thanks Star."

Someone came and started trying to break up the crowd. It wasn't too hard now that the fight was over.

The kid on the ground got up. "Thanks, uh, owl."

Whip grinned. "Well, at least _someone _learned something. Name's Whip." She held out her talon.

"I'm Artie." He took her talon. She could tell from his grip he was nervous shaking her outrageously dangerous talon. She made sure to be gentle. Then a bell went off. "Great. Looks like I'm late anyway." He started to run off, then he stopped. "See you later?"

"Oh yeah." Whip assured him.

Artie ran off. "He nodded." Star informed her.


	15. Escape Plan

Escape Plan

(Uh, if anyone's reading this, a review would be nice. I'm almost done here.)

For a while Whip and Star protected Artie, after their first fight most people gave them a wide birth anyway. Of course, they couldn't follow Artie inside, they found that out the hard way when Star tried and got temporarily cursed by a teacher.

Whip had also had to tell Artie she was blind. At first, like most people, he'd underestimated her when she'd said so. But that passed.

Whip was flying past the entrance to the school, carrying a mouse for lunch, when she heard Artie calling out. Feeling curious she slipped in. Artie was . . . was on the wall? Whip shook her head in confusion. He was on the wall alright.

"Whip. Oh good. Could you get me off?" Artie asked.

"Uh . . . sure." She flapped up and soon found out how he managed to be stuck on the wall. He was tapped. She quickly cut the tape with her extender claws. Artie fell off the wall. She helped him get his stuff together. "Why does everyone here have to be so awful?"

"Oh I wish I knew." Artie replied. Then he left.

That was when the janitor spotted her. "Ah!" she heard a broom come down and quickly jumped away. "Out! Out you pest!" The broom kept coming down; Whip ran away and flapped her wings. Soon she was in the air and out the door.

"Whip! This way!" Star hooted. Literally, no human could've understood what she said.

Whip got over to her and Star grabbed her talon so they could fly faster. She led them to an isolated spot in the forest. There was a building there. Star led Whip in. "Wow, it feels so clean here." Whip said. She'd thought the place was abandoned.

"That's because I cleaned it up a bit when I found it." Star explained.

Whip hadn't seen that one coming. "Why?"

"Don't you see? We can live here now. We'll have each other, and if that's not enough company we can fly back in Worcestershire. And let's face it, we're owls, the only reason we'd need to live with anyone else is for company."

Whip thought about this. She had to admit, it was a pretty good plan. And there had been so much drama lately it would be nice to forget the world and live here. There was only one thing bothering her. "We should bring Artie too."

"What?"

"He's always being picked on, we can't just leave him like that."

"Whip we can take care of ourselves, but I'm not sure if we can take care of Artie too. Don't get me wrong, I like him and all."

"I can be a blacksmith and sell some stuff."

"Well then Whip, we have ourselves a plan." Whip could tell from Star's tone of voice, she was smiling.


	16. Leaving

Leaving

Artie was outside. He knew he was about to be bullied by the jousting group. Just as they walked up Whip flew over. "Hey." She said. She gave a big innocent smile. It was actually kind of creepy how she could act so innocent then beat them all up. They knew it too. Most of them ran off. And the others followed as soon as she clicked her outrageously big claws.

"Hi Whip." Artie said.

"Hi Artie." She looked around. "Hey Artie, I assume you don't want to stick around here."

Artie shook his head. "No way."

"Well, Star and I found this place, we were going to move there. Maybe you could come with us?"

Artie thought about this. He wasn't sure he wanted to accept. Living with two owls forever? "I don't know Whip. . ."

"Hey it's okay. It was just an offer." Whip said quickly.

She was about to fly off. Artie grabbed her talon and flinched. He'd forgotten how painful those things were. "Hold it Whip. Let me think." If he refused, he'd be stuck in this horrible school, and Whip and Star wouldn't show up to help him anymore. It was completely embarrassing he was relying on owls to protect him. Then again, if he went with them, he'd be with two fighting owls and away from the school. "Would we visit other people?"

Whip nodded. "Definitely."

"Alright. I'll come."

Whip grinned. "Great. Come one." She gestured with her wing for him to follow. And he did. She was really slow though. He could move much faster. _Why didn't Star come? _Instantly he felt guilty for thinking that. Whip was good at, like, everything even if she was blind.


	17. Artie Saves the Day

Artie Saves the Day

(Only one chapter after this. I can't believe I've actually made it through this whole story without one signal review. Since this chapter is mildly strange I'll explain a bit of it. Fiona is obviously the one trying to buy a weapon. Since she doesn't know Whip is blind when she recognizes her voice Fiona thinks Whip will get her caught.)

Whip was lying on her back twiddling her talons. She was selling some weapons, but so far it had been extremely slow. Artie had gone off to look for things they'd need in their new house. Then someone walked up. "Excuse me, I'd like to buy a weapon."

Whip's eyes widened. She knew that voice. "You're the one from the Poison Apple. Only you disguised your voice then."

Suddenly the woman grabbed her ear tuff and slammed her against the table with it. "How did you know that?"

Whip's eyes were wide for a different reason now. She couldn't really fight back in this position. "I-I just have good hearing."

There wasn't anyone around. Whip had chosen an isolated spot on purpose, but now she cursed her luck. The woman started signing. Whip felt like she was going to go deaf. She screeched in the pain it was causing her ears and felt her feathers start puffing out.

Then the woman stopped and grabbed a sword off the table. It clanged with other metal. Another blade. "Back off my owl."

Whip's ears were still ringing, but she could recognize that voice. "Artie." She breathed.

There was some more sounds of metal clashing, a sword fight. Meanwhile Whip was recovering from the pain. She jumped up and clawed the woman. She ran off. "Thanks Artie."

"Uh . . . yeah. Anytime." Artie was rather stunned. For the whole time he'd known Whip and Star they'd been protecting him. Now he'd just saved her. "What do you say we get out of here now?"

Whip nodded. "Good idea." She landed on Artie's shoulder so they could go faster. Than they collected the weapons and left.


	18. Epilogue

Epilogue

Puss helped Whip back to her feet, apparently she'd fallen over. "Sorry Seniorita. I should have warned you."

"No, it's okay. At least now I now I know what I was like in the alternate reality." She said. She thought about all the new memories floating in her mind. Artie was the king of Far Far Away. She'd helped him in both realities. Did he know that? Was that why he wanted to talk to her?

Then there was Star. Whip had thought she had been just like everyone else in the Sky Kingdom. Only her friend because she was a princess. But she was clearly wrong. Star had come with her and helped her all along the way.

Whip started walking away. She would change to flying at some point. "Where are you going?" Puss asked.

Whip spun her head back around. "To see the king. I believe he wishes to speak with me." Puss made a sound like he was trying to say something, but no words came out. Whip had been trying to avoid the king her whole time in Far Far Away so it was only naturel he was surprised. "I should also talk to Star. I have to thank her for something." And with that Whip spun her head back on, lifted her wings, and took to the sky.

(The end!)


End file.
